Summary:

    This post discuss what Region B Blu-ray is and how to play region B Blu-ray on my Blu-ray player.

"I have a Blu-ray disc I purchased from Germany, and I got my Blu-ray player from the U.S. I was told that I can't play the disc on my Blu-ray player because the region codes on them don't match. What is Region B Blu-ray and how to play region B Blu-ray on my Blu-ray player?"

Part 1: What is Blu-ray Region Code

The Blu-ray regional coding system is created to prevent Blu-ray discs made for a specific region being played in other regions. The Blu-ray region codes are seperated in 3 differnt zones.

  • Region A: East Asia (except Mainland China and Mongolia), Southeast Asia, the Americas and their dependencies.
  • Region B: Africa, Southwest Asia, Europe (except Russia), Oceania and their dependencies.
  • Region C: Central Asia, East Asia (Mainland China and Mongolia only), South Asia, central Eurasia and their dependencies.

Blu-ray region codes map

If you get a Blu-ray disc with region code on it from, say, Australia and you live in the U.S. and get your Blu-ray Player from there. Then you will have a Blu-ray disc from region B and a Blu-ray player from region A. If both the Blu-ray disc and the Blu-ray player have region codes on them, then you won't be able to play a region B Blu-ray on a Region A Blu-ray player.

But certain U.S. movie studios have been release most of their titles region-free. Big movie studios like Walt Disney Pictures, Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, and Warner Bros have chosen to release most of their productions region-free. The region code is usually printed on the cover of the disc. If you have a Blu-ray disc with A,B,C region codes on them, it would mean that it's a region-free disc and you can play it on any Blu-ray player.

A region free Blu-ray disc can be play on a Blu-ray player of any region and a region free Blu-ray player can play Blu-ray discs of all regions. So when you have a Blu-ray disc that you can't play on your Blu-ray player because they carry different region codes, there are several different solutions you can have to solve the problem. If you have a Region B Blu-ray disc and a Blu-ray player from Region A, here's what you can do.

How to play Region B Blu-ray on Blu-ray players from other regions

  • 1. Get a Region A version of the Blu-ray disc to play on your Region A Blu-ray player.
  • 2. Get a Region B Blu-ray player to play the Region B Blu-ray disc.
  • 3. Get a Region-free Blu-ray disc.
  • 4. Get a Region-free Blu-ray player.
  • 5. Make a region-free copy of your Blu-ray disc.

Of all those solutions, the fifth one is the most effective and money-saving one. If you want to watch a region-locked Blu-ray movie with a Blu-ray player of a different region, this is the simplest solution you can have.

Part 2: Best Region-Free Blu-ray player to play Region B Blu-rays

The Blu-ray region codes could be a headache to people who collect Blu-ray discs. If you buy Blu-ray discs from differnet places, the best solution to the Blu-ray region code issue is to get a region free Blu-ray player. Check out what Region-free Blu-ray players you can buy.

No.1. Sony BDP-S1700 Multi Region Blu-ray DVD, Region Free Player 110-240 volts, HDMI Cable & Dynastar Plug Adapter Package Smart / Region Free

The Sony BDP-S1700 is region free for both Blu-ray and DVD. It comes with support for streaming services from Netflix, YouTube, Hulu Plus, Amazon Insant Video, etc. But as it doesn't have Wi-Fi, it requires wired internet connection. The most interesting feature of it is the support for PlayStation Now, Sony's streaming service that allows you to stream and play PS3 games. And if you have DVDs, it also supports DVD upscaling.

Sony BDP-S1700

No.2. Samsung J5900RF Wi-Fi Multi System Region Free Blu-Ray Disc DVD Player

The Samsung J5900RF is a simple but powerful Region-Free Blu-ray DVD player. It has Wi-Fi that allows you to stream media content from Netflix, YouTube, Pandora, Vudu, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, and more. And it's also a 3D Blu-ray player. It will recognize the region of your DVD disc automatically but not Blu-ray discs. When you play a Blu-ray disc that has region code on it, you will have to press the respective button on the remote to tell the player the region of the Blu-ray disc you are playing.

Samsung J5900RF Wi-Fi Multi System Region Free Blu-Ray Disc DVD Player

NO.3. Leawo Blu-ray Player

There is another option here: choose a free Blu-ray player software instead. As a leading high quality Blu-ray/DVD/4K HD media player, Leawo Blu-ray Player software plays Blu-ray discs for totally free, and downward compatible with DVD discs playback, no matter they are commercial or regular. With the application of decryption technology, it plays Blu-ray discs of region A, B and C, and DVD discs from region 0 to 6. Having said that, it is entirely region free and it will not require you to set region code like other rivals. It does not limit you changing player regions by up to 5 times so you can rely on it to play as much as you want.

Best of all, it is totally free of charge and for advanced users, they can get a premium version to make it a .mkv converter if in need.

  • Leawo Blu-ray Player
  • Leawo Blu-ray Player

    Region-free Blu-ray player software to play Blu-ray disc and DVD disc for free, regardless of disc protection and region restriction.
    Play 4K FLV videos, 4K MKV videos, 4K MP4 videos, etc. without quality loss.
    Play 1080P videos, 720P videos with lossless quality.

Part 3: How to create a region free copy of your Region B Blu-ray disc

If you don't have a lot of region-locked Blu-ray discs, making a region-free copy of them is also a good way to solving the region code issue. There's a nice piece of software you can use called Leawo Blu-ray Copy to create region-free copy of your Blu-ray collection. It can copy your Blu-ray disc with no quality loss and remove the region code during the copying process. Learn how you can use the program to make a lossless, region-free copy of your region-locked Blu-ray disc using Leawo Blu-ray Copy.

Step 1: Download Leawo Blu-ray Copy

Download and install Leawo Blu-ray Copy on your computer according to your computer system.

  • Leawo Blu-ray Copy

    - 1:1 copy Blu-ray movies without quality loss.
    - Backup Blu-ray/DVD with 3 Copy Modes.
    - Remove copy protection from Blu-ray discs.
    - Copy Blu-ray in 1:1 quality with 6X higher speed.
    - Easy-to-use UI and multiple user-friendly settings.

Step 2: Load the source Blu-ray movie

After installing, launch Leawo Blu-ray Copy on your computer. Then, click "Add Blu-ray/DVD" button to import source Blu-ray disc, ISO file or folder for backup. If you need to make backup from Blu-ray disc, you need to insert the source Blu-ray disc first.

Leawo-Blu-ray-Copy 1

Step 3: Confirm the relevant settings

Once the Blu-ray disc has been imported to the program, then you can find a lot of options for you, including video titles, audio tracks, and subtitles. Also, you can be able to select the different copy modes listed below, including "Full Movie", "Main Movie" and "Custom Mode" which respectively represents copying the whole disc, the longest video and preferred videos based on your own needs. At the bottom of the main interface, you can choose the purposed DVD formats, like "DVD-9" and "DVD-5".

Leawo-Blu-ray-Copy 2

Step 4: Start the copying process

Once all parameters are set, you can click the big green button “Copy” on the top-right corner. But you should confirm “Copy to”, “Disc Label”, “Save to” options first. After all of them have been selected, then you can click “Copy” button to start copying Blu-ray.

Leawo-Blu-ray-Copy 3

If you prefer video guide, check out the video below. It's a video tutorial that shows you how to use Leawo Blu-ray Copy to make a copy of a Blu-ray disc.

Part 4: How to make a region-free digital copy of your region-locked Blu-ray disc

Another option you have to deal with a region-locked Blu-ray disc you can't play is to use a Blu-ray ripper program to create a digital copy of the movie. It would allow you to watch the movie not only on your computer but also on your mobile devices like your iPad or your phone. Leawo Software also has a piece of high quality Blu-ray ripper software that you can use to convert your Blu-ray movie to lossless MKV video or an universal MP4 video for playback on mobile devices. The program's called Leawo Blu-ray Ripper. Below's how to create a digital copy of your Blu-ray disc with it.

  • Leawo Blu-ray Ripper
  • Leawo Blu-ray Ripper

    ☉ Decrypt and rip Blu-ray/DVD discs with disc protection and region code
    ☉ Convert Blu-ray/DVD to MP4, MKV, AVI, MOV, FLV, and other 180+ HD/SD formats
    ☉ Convert Blu-ray/DVD main movie to videos for space saving
    ☉ Convert 2D Blu-ray/DVD movies to 3D movies with 6 different 3D effects
    ☉ Fast conversion with NVIDIA CUDA, AMD APP and Intel Quick Sync acceleration technologies

Step 1: Launch Leawo Blu-ray Ripper

Download and install Leawo Blu-Ray Ripper on your computer, and then kick off the program to enter the home page as shown below. If you need, click Settings icon on the right up corner to set language, conversion specification, performances, etc.

Step 2: Import source Blu-ray files

Under Convert button, you will see two drop down boxes that say Add Video and Add UHD/Blu-ray/DVD. You can add video or video folder by clicking the Add Video button; you can add from CD-ROM (you need to insert Blu-ray DVD into the CD-ROM beforehand), add from folder or add ISO file by clicking Add Blu-ray/DVD; or you can drag file directly into the program.

Step 3: Set the output format you need

The default setting is MP4 Video. Click the drop down box MP4 Video and then click change to launch a new interface where you can choose output format and device.

Step 4: Start converting

After profile settings, you will be returned to the converting panel, on which you need to click the green “Convert” button to set output directory for saving the output files. Later, you just hit the “Convert” button at the bottom of sidebar to start conversion process. During the conversion process, you could click “Cancel” button to call off the process.

Step 5(optional): Edit Blu-ray/DVD movies

Leawo Blu-Ray Ripper enables you to personalize Blu-Ray/DVD movies before or after converting to get more enjoyment, including: file merging, media editing, 3D movie creating, parameter adjusting, etc. You could make movie with your own patent easily.

Below is a video guide of Blu-ray Ripper that shows you how to rip and convert a Blu-ray movie to a common video file with the program.

Before getting a Blu-ray disc, you should check the Blu-ray regions information first to make sure you get the right disc for your Blu-ray player or the Blu-ray region codes could bring troubles. If you've have collected a certain a mount of Blu-ray discs over the years and have had some of the scratched, check out how to fix a scratched Blu-ray disc.